What's Hatching in Our Hawaiian Nest

M is for…

A Verse Hid in Our Heart…M is for…
“My soul will be satisfied with fat and rich food and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, When I remember you upon my bed, and meditate upon you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.” Psalm 63:5

How Our Week Was Spent
We learned how birds have a furcula which is just like our collar bones only stuck together. People that used to live before the Romans thought it had special powers because chickens were like prophets (Titus, almost 10!).
We saved the wishbone from our turkey and broke it and I won (Joel, 8).Teacher’s Two-Cents
Here’s a story about a bird. It begins at the end. By the time we met “Thomas” he was frozen solid and needed a few days of thawing in our fridge before we could break the ice and really get acquainted. We only had enough time to rub him down with some Hawaiian Alaea Salt before Thomas was whisked off to the local canoe club where he was lined up with dozens of other birds waiting to be wrapped in banana and ti leaves and chicken wire and face their second fate. The Imu Pit.

Prepping banana and ti leaves for wrapping

Thomas was the biggest bird there so he got to go in first. Lucky Thomas. Once he and all his now unfeathered friends were comfortably settled in the glowing coals they were buried by banana tree trunks and giant leaves and then wet tarps and finally a thick layer of dirt.

“Thomas” was first in line

Then there was nothing to do but wait, which the boys could only tolerate so much of so we walked home on the golf course and did our waiting there.

I’m like the Pied Piper…always picking up extra boys as I go along 🙂

Finally the time came to bring Thomas home. We unwrapped him like a gift and when the last layer of leaves was pulled aside we could see the transformation was complete. Thomas had become a mound of fall-off-the-bone tender, smoky, deliciousness. Paired with authentic Portuguese Sweet Rolls hot out of a real outdoor stone oven, purple Hawaiian Sweet potatoes, green beans and cranberry/pineapple rings, Thomas would have been feast enough.

Imu pit turkey and a bag of fresh Portuguese Sweet Rolls.

But in true Hawaiian fashion (and Pilgrim fashion, too) the 20+ neighbors who joined us brought according to their own abundance as well. They also brought according to their own cultural culinary tastes which made for one of the most eclectic Thanksgiving feasts I’ve ever gobbled down!
But before the feast could begin the adults were all treated to our very own Thanksgiving Day Parade complete with a real live marching band made up of all the kiddos and a wondrous array of Hawaiian instruments, from bamboo horns and coconut drums to classic ukeleles. They blew and beat and strummed their way to the feast whereby we paused for prayer (in English, German, and Japanese!) and sang the Doxology together in Hawaiian.
Later as our family watched the video we had made of our neighbors saying the things they were thankful for as they waited in the dinner line it occurred to us how awful it must be to know how much you have to be thankful for but not to know The One to whom we owe ALL our thanks. We all know the feeling of satisfaction that a full tummy brings after such a feast of “fat and rich food,” but true thankfulness is a soul food and can only bring that deep down satisfaction to the one who knows where their gratitude is due. Good gifts are a blessing but we miss out on the greater blessing when we lack gratitude to the Giver Of All Good Gifts. The Psalmist’s very soul was satisfied as he lay awake at night thinking of all the Lord had done for him. When I think how I lay awake the night before Thanksgiving fretting about “Thomas” our turkey and how he and all the other fixings would turn out and how in the world I would have time to set everything up AND get the family ready to attend the Thanksgiving Day service at church and how none of my fretting could add or subtract to all the blessings the Lord has showered upon our family, I realize that I missed out on a major blessing: a soul-satisfying midnight feast of thankfulness. From now on my goal is to turn every sleepless night into a real Thanksgiving Feast.

Amazing! My mom picked this one up at a thrift store for me to help cover up the huge ugly walls of the condo we rent. I LOVE the colors in it and the whimsical design. Our baby gets quite mesmerized by it as well.

For 25 years of our marriage (and 5 countries and multiple city/state moves) this quilt was the first thing to be put up. When the quilt was unpacked, we all felt like we were home…no matter where we were. After all, it is called the Tree of Life! 🙂 May it be a blessing to you home as well…for many years to come.
Delana

Thank you for sharing the quilt’s name with me! How perfect. We’ve moved a number of times as well and I agree with you, a quilt always makes any place feel like home. We came to Hawaii with just our suitcases but I made sure one of them was packed with a couple quilts to feather our new nest with. Of course here, it’s to hot to sleep under them so we hang them on the walls.:)

Oh! Another one of my favorites to sing… to the tune of “How Sweet and Awesome is the Place”…
Because Thy grace is more than life
My lips Thee praise shall give;
I in Thy name will lift my hands
And bless Thee while I live.
My soul with rich, abundant food
Shall be well satisfied;
With shouts of joy upon my lips
My mouth shall praise provide.

Oh and how many nights I have spent worrying when I could have been having that feast of thankfulness! I like your plan! I love seeing your Hawaiian Thanksgiving celebration! 🙂